Five Worlds in which Katniss Everdeen Did Not Become the Mockingjay
by gethsemane342
Summary: Alter one small thing and the entire story can change. Five worlds in which Katniss Everdeen did not become "The Mockingjay".
1. Annaliese Thyme

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games**_

_**Rating: for mentions of death**_

**A/n: **To explain one point, as it will arise a few times in this fic: in my general THG universe, the boy from District 7 died in the bloodbath because Peeta was there to slow him down. Anyway, I will update when I have time. My work hours are unpredictable but rest assured the other four worlds are written so all it requires is for me to get home before about 9.30pm. Hope you enjoy!

Five Worlds in which Katniss Everdeen Did Not Become the Mockingjay

I. Annaliese Thyme

Primrose Everdeen is not called for the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games. A girl from the Seam – a seventeen-year-old called Annaliese Thyme – is called instead. No one volunteers for her.

Peeta Mellark is called as the male tribute. No one volunteers for him either.

Annaliese is a soft-spoken girl with a shy smile and a sweet personality. Within hours, she and Peeta have become friends. It is Peeta who snaps at Haymitch that he should sober up but it is Annaliese's demeanour that gives Haymitch the idea. He speaks to the District 12 stylists who direct Peeta and Annaliese to hold hands at the Opening Ceremony.

Annaliese thinks about taking it further. She suggests to Peeta that they pretend to be in love. Peeta refuses. Not because of her but because he is in love with a girl in District 12, although she does not even know he is alive. Annaliese tells him that she is in love with a boy from the town who does not know she is alive. They hold each other's gazes for a few seconds more before they admit that if they won together and married each other, they would always think, _what if_.

(They kiss once, when the cameras are not looking at them. To let themselves pretend that Peeta is her boy from the town and Annaliese is his girl from the Seam. Because, deep down, they both know that they will never have anything more than pretend.)

Peeta gets an eight at training but Annaliese only gets a five. Peeta's star rises with his interview and his winning way with words. Annaliese captures a few hearts. Haymitch chooses Peeta over her although he, of course, does not tell either of them of his decision.

Annaliese dies on the second day when she and Peeta run into the boy from District 7. He is a strong fighter who was too quick for Cato to kill at the bloodbath. Peeta throws him off her a few seconds later but it is too late. He speaks to her as she dies and his words carry a spark that could, one day, inflame a country.

Nevertheless, he dies too. He runs from a forest fire into the Careers. The boy from District 2 beheads him. For the twenty-fourth time in a row, District 12 does not have its winner. Once again, the spark is extinguished because there is no one there to fan its flames.

Katniss Everdeen is affected by the death of the boy with the bread but she cannot explain why to anyone. She recovers relatively quickly although the feeling of owing and the dread that comes with it never leaves her. Marvel Hoffman wins the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games. Life in Panem continues the way it did before.

(Incidentally, Primrose Everdeen is not safe. She is called for the Seventy-seventh Hunger Games, when Katniss is too old to volunteer, and dies four days in. The pain of losing her little sister never leaves Katniss but it is not a pain that inspires any form of rebellion. It is a pain that requires great strength of mind to work through. She makes it, but only because Gale Hawthorne is there to hold her together, every step of the way.)


	2. Periwinkle Everdeen

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games**

**A/n: **It's a fantastically sunny day today. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

II. Periwinkle Everdeen

Annaliese Thyme is called as the female tribute of District 12 for the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games. No one volunteers for her.

The male tribute is Periwinkle Everdeen. As he walks up, fists clenched, with his shirt untucked at the back in a manner remnant of a duck, Katniss screams, "Peri! Peri!"

But she cannot do anything. She looks pleadingly at Gale and then looks away, hating herself. She can no more ask Gale to sacrifice his life for Peri than he could ask her to sacrifice her life for Posy, if Posy were old enough to be reaped. Gale, to his credit, looks as though he is seriously considering it. However, the moment passes and Peri Everdeen remains the District 12 male tribute.

In the ten minutes that Katniss has to say goodbye to her only sibling, she gives him as much advice as she can. She gives him his token: the ribbon from his goat, Lady. The air is thick with sadness. Peri is twelve-years-old and exceedingly gentle. He has his mother's hands – healer's hands – and he cried the first time Katniss took him hunting. It hurts Katniss not because Peri is going to die but because there is nothing she can do to stop it.

The age difference between Peri and Annaliese is too great for them to pull off star-crossed lovers but they gravitate towards each other in friendship anyway. Peri suggests holding hands at the Opening Ceremony. Annaliese agrees because she feels sorry for him. They are going to die and she knows it. But Peri has not yet accepted it and Annaliese cannot bring herself to tell him otherwise.

In training, Peri meets Rue. They are the only twelve-year-olds in the Games. Peri talks to her on the first morning. Rue wonders exactly what sort of life Peri has lead, that he does not think he will die. It's not even as though he can fight. He knows some survival skills but that is more or less it. Yet when he invites her to sit with Annaliese and himself at lunch, she accepts.

It begins the most unlikely alliance. As Annaliese points out on the third day of training, they are three of the least likely tributes to win. Peri smiles and says that maybe winning isn't the point here. Can it not just be the taking part? He doesn't notice but he catches the interest of a silent, dark-skinned giant from District 11.

Rue gets a seven in training. Peri and Annaliese both get fives. In the interviews, Annaliese captures the hearts of a few people but Peri captures the hearts of a nation. He talks about the friends he has made and how much he wants to go _back _with Annaliese Thyme and Rue Malinka. He is already the boy on fire from Cinna's spectacular designs but his simple innocence is what ignites the spark.

(Later, much later, Annaliese asks him if he really thinks he can go back to District 12 with Rue and herself. He shakes his head but says nothing else. It is then that Annaliese realises that Peri is innocent but not stupid. He is fighting to stay alive in a manner that no one else has yet tried: by reminding the Capitol of the values of compassion, friendship and humanity.)

Annaliese, Peri and Rue ally in the arena. They escape the Cornucopia with few supplies between them. Rue and Peri know plants; Annaliese knows shelter. They nearly die from dehydration until Peri finds the muddy ground. They run into an area with no edible berries and Rue guides them out. They smell smoke so Annaliese scouts a path to safety. At separate points, all three of them think that they are going to die. But Annaliese's sponsorship ratings rise when she flings a rock at the boy from District 2, killing him, when he is too close to their hiding place. Rue and Peri don't congratulate her and for that, she is glad. The boy's death was based on luck – she has terrible aim. Nonetheless, Haymitch sends some much needed food and medicine. Meanwhile, the boy from District 7 kills the girl from District 4 and the girl from District 1 before he is also killed. The boy from District 3 rigs a trap based on the mines but it backfires and kills him.

The trio run from some mutts into a field. Rue is badly injured and Annaliese and Peri have to carry her between them. There they meet Thresh who refuses to kill them. A rule change is announced. Two tributes from the same district can win if they are the last ones left alive. It is obviously intended to turn Districts 11 and 12 against each other. Neither Thresh nor Annaliese and Peri comment on it.

There are four tributes left apart from Districts 11 and 12: the boy from One, the girl from Two, the girl from Five and the crippled boy from Ten. A feast is announced as Rue's condition becomes worse. Annaliese offers to get the medicine from the feast: she is the fastest runner. The girl from Five appears and disappears. Annaliese runs out but is caught by the Careers and killed. Thresh, angry, kills the girl from District 2. The boy runs away. Meanwhile, the crippled boy takes his own pack and throws the District 11 pack at Peri. The diversion works: neither Thresh nor Peri are willing to leave Rue any longer, especially if they have the medicine.

Rue recovers. When they tell her about Annaliese's death, she cries. Peri sings because he knows it is what Rue wants and because it is what Annaliese would want. His voice is not as pure as his sister's is but there is something about its rustiness that makes it all the better. Thresh's bass entwines with his soprano as they realise their districts have more in common than children who die every year.

The boy from District 10 dies in a Gamemaker trap. The boy from District 1 finds and kills the girl from District 5. He is driven towards the field where Thresh, Rue and Peri wait. In the final fight, Thresh breaks Marvel's neck but not before Marvel can inflict a deadly cut to Thresh's stomach.

Rue and Peri are left. For the first time in Hunger Games history, a twelve-year-old will win. However, Rue will not kill Peri and Peri will not kill Rue. Rue comments that if they don't choose who will die, the Gamemakers will. Peri looks at the lake then back at Rue before saying, "Friends don't kill each other, Rue."

And Rue, who always knows what he is thinking, smiles and replies, "Friends die for each other. Like Annaliese and Thresh."

"Friends die together."

He holds her hand as they run and leap into the lake. When it becomes clear that they are drowning together (a fine end for the boy on fire), Claudius Templesmith yells, "Stop! Stop!" and declares them joint victors. They are rescued from the arena.

Two victors. From different districts. Who did not kill a single person in the Hunger Games. If anything shows that the Capitol can be outsmarted, this is it. Periwinkle Everdeen and Rue Malinka have ignited a fire within the hearts of the citizens of Panem.

And fire, as they say, is catching.

President Snow pays a visit to Peri just before his Victory Tour and warns him that he must continue to be friends with Rue because his actions have begun a terrible uprising. Peri points out that his actions _were_ based on friendship. However, it is too late, he is told. There are districts out there who simply do not believe him. After he has gone, Peri runs to the woods with his sister and her best friend Gale and tells them about the warning. Gale's eyes alight with the same fire that has spread to other districts. He encourages Peri to continue the rebellion. But Peri is no longer the innocent twelve-year-old he was six months beforehand and is not so easily swayed towards something that could create even more violence in Panem.

The choice is taken away from him. For the third quarter quell, the tributes are reaped from the existing pool of victors and their families. It is clear what is intended. Peri and Rue are to die, with Peri's sister being used as an example to other victors. No one is surprised when both he and Rue are reaped (Katniss, of course, is the only eligible family member to be reaped). Panem is further inflamed by Peri and Rue switching carriages in the Opening Ceremony, making it clear that they intend to continue the District 11/12 friendship.

An underground resistance breaks Peri out of the arena along with Beetee, Chaff, Katniss and Finnick Odair. Peri is furious with the way people have used him for their own ends without consulting him, especially when the move results in the destruction of Districts 11 and 12. Some people escape from District 12. Even less escape from District 11. He refuses to become the face of the Rebellion until Gale tells him that unless he does something, Rue may never be freed. Katniss, who has become a soldier of District 13, reminds him that no matter what he chooses, she will always stand behind but adds that if he had been left in the Capitol, Rue would have done anything she could to free him. Periwinkle Everdeen, the boy on fire and friend to all, casts his support for the rebels in a public statement, condemning the Capitol way of life. Until he one day realises that with every statement he makes, he not only slips away from being a peacemaker but condemns Rue to further torture. For the first time, he and Finnick have something in common other than being thrust into an alliance.

Rue, Johanna and Annie are rescued from the Capitol. They have done something to Rue, something that causes her to hate Peri. She tries to kill him the first time she sees him. Katniss finds him trembling in an airing cupboard and for the first time since he was reaped, he sobs.

With the iconic friendship dying, President Coin begins to view Peri as someone who would best serve the cause as a martyr. A young boy thrust into a cruel world, who died trying to create peace. If only the regime that killed the boy who sought a more hopeful future was over. Katniss works it out and warns him. Peri distances himself even further from Coin. He does not go to the Capitol to fight – indeed, he _can't_ fight – but Katniss does. While Peri makes speeches and tries to reconcile with Rue in dangerous areas to show his support for the rebels, Katniss is sent to the front lines. They make it to the Capitol and she is there when a Capitol hovercraft bombs a pen full of children. She dies in the blast.

Peri is traumatised by the death of his sister. The weapon sounds familiar but it is not until one of his more normal conversations with Rue, where she tells him that she found it strange that President Snow killed his own people's children in response to the _rebels_ arriving, that he remembers a conversation Katniss had with him, about a weapon Gale was making. He questions aloud why a seventeen-year-old with almost no training was sent to the front lines. Chaff, who sits with Rue day and night now that she doesn't want to kill him, tells him that there is more than one way to secure a boy's allegiance. Especially a boy who has made it clear he does not support President Coin's tactics.

He makes a speech and broadcasts it to Panem, condemning President Coin's actions. It spreads like wildfire. Coin is forced to step down, to prevent the potential new uprising, and Paylor takes over. Tenuous peace breaks out as Peri and Rue hold hands one more time for the cameras. A new regime. Friendship, compassion and humanity for all. And all it took was the destruction of innocence of two small children.


	3. Edward Appleseed

**Disclaimer: I do not own _The Hunger_**_ Games_

**A/n: **Wow, there were quite a few readers of the last one. Plus the sunny weather continues. So it's clearly a good day (although I was less convinced when I ran around my office floor earlier, trying and failing to handle all my printing). Hope you enjoy!

III. Edward Appleseed

On the first day of school, Peeta Mellark watches Katniss Everdeen. He drinks in every detail about her, from her dress to her hair, and wonders whether her voice can make the birds fall silent when she sings.

He doesn't find out that day. The teacher asks if anyone knows the Edward Appleseed song and wants to sing it. Katniss knows a great many songs but not this one. When a boy sings it, she realises why her father has never sung it to her. The tune is boring, the words are boring and there is nothing beautiful about it. She makes no effort to memorise it.

Peeta is a goner, like his father before him, but he doesn't know it yet. It is this lack of knowledge that gives him courage. One day, when they are both six-years-old, he sees her singing to herself and walks over to listen. When she looks up, he quietly tells her that her voice really does cause birds to fall silent when she sings.

Her father is not dead yet. She is quiet and keeps to herself but not because she is focussed on only one thing. So she asks Peeta what he means and from there a conversation springs up. A friendship is born. He meets with her every day in school. She teaches him to sing. He teaches her to draw. His voice isn't as clear as hers and her hands aren't as clever as his but they continue to practice together.

His mother hits him. She urges him to stay with her family as often as he can. In return, he sneaks her bread. It is not until she is nine that she begins to hate taking the bread. But he convinces her it is a thank you for the kindness her family have shown him and, occasionally, his brothers.

Her father dies in an explosion when she is eleven. Her mother falls to pieces. She finds herself in charge of her family. Peeta tries to help as best as he can, sneaking her food and sitting with her and Prim in the evenings. Eventually, Katniss begins to hunt. Peeta's only response is to say, "Teach me. Let me help." And so she does and while he will never be a true hunter, he is no burden. She shares all spoils with his family, although his mother hates her and they don't really need it, because she refuses to owe Peeta. One day, they meet Gale Hawthorne and soon, they are an inseparable trio of law-breaking teenagers.

It surprises no one when Katniss falls in love, at fourteen. Everyone has said for years that the youngest Mellark boy and the oldest Everdeen girl will finish the history that began with her mother and his father. Gale's only response is to smile wryly and tell Peeta that he would give Peeta a warning about treating Katniss well except that the only thing he can think of to warn him about is not to feed her too many cakes.

At the Seventy-fourth Reaping, Primrose Everdeen's name is called. Primrose Everdeen is the only person in the world who Katniss loves as much as she loves Peeta. She volunteers.

But fate is against them because the male tribute of District 12 is announced as Peeta Mellark. An involuntary moan arises from much of the crowd because, really, is there anything worse than forcing two people in love to fight to the death? As Katniss scans the crowd, she can see Gale's face twist but she knows that no one will volunteer. Peeta would prefer her to live. And now that he is here too, she realises that for the first time, she does not know what she will do: fight for her survival or his.

They convince Haymitch to take them seriously as tributes. Haymitch chooses Katniss over Peeta although he tells no one of his choice. Because Katniss has a family who depend on her while Peeta has a family who only love him. Because Katniss knows the dangers of falling apart when the person you love dies but Peeta has never experienced it. Because Katniss' survival skills _are _better than Peeta's. Because, because, because, he has to pick _someone_ and whoever he picks, it will always be the wrong choice.

They become the boy and girl on fire. Katniss thinks it will be better to hide their relationship but Peeta disagrees and announces it at the interviews. It surprises none of the tributes, who saw how they acted around each other at training, and it does not surprise many of the sharper viewers, who noticed how Katniss blushed and involuntarily glanced at Peeta when she said that there was no young man in her life.

They work together in the arena. Their years of teamwork pay off. Katniss is the hunter. She has no bow but she has a knife that the girl from District 2 hurled at her when she could not resist an orange backpack. Peeta is the talker, the cook and the short-range fighter, his years of hunting and wrestling making him strong. Their sponsorship ratings are through the roof. No one wants the star-crossed lovers from District 12 to die.

They nearly burn alive in a Gamemaker trap and run into the Careers. But the boy from District 7 has run from the same trap. He is a vicious fighter whose life has consisted of short fights and beatings. He kills the girl from District 1 before Cato can grab and kill him. Katniss uses the moment to steal her bow but the girl from District 4 catches her. Without thinking, Katniss uses the knife that Clove had flung at her in the bloodbath to stab the girl. She dies. In the confusion, Peeta's leg is sliced open by Cato and they only make an escape when someone cuts down a tracker-jacker nest. Katniss is stung twice. When she wakes up, she and Peeta lie in a clearing with little Rue tending to their wounds. Rue who decided that two people that in love must be trustworthy.

Katniss tries to heal Peeta with bandages sent by sponsors. The wound looks terrible but there is nothing further she can do and he insists that he will be fine. They think of a plan to destroy the Career's food. Peeta cannot walk properly yet so he agrees to stay hidden while Rue and Katniss enact the plan. The plan works but the boy from District 3 is killed and Rue dies when the boy from District 1 spears her. Katniss sings her to sleep and decorates her body with flowers.

She returns to Peeta only to find him delirious with infection. If Katniss wants to save Peeta, she must go to the feast that is announced one day later. He begs her not to, to let him die, and she replies that he may as well kill her now because she isn't living knowing she let him die. She doesn't think about the words as she says them. But a nation is gripped by the depth of her sincerity.

At the feast, Clove nearly kills her but she is saved by Thresh. Thresh lets her go for the little girl. She gets the medicine to Peeta. They hunt. Thresh dies. Peeta, who is weak with exhaustion, accidentally picks some nightlock berries instead of the good ones next to them. He realises his mistake but not before the girl from District 5 has consumed them.

That leaves only Cato and themselves. Mutts chase them into the Cornucopia and savage Peeta's leg in the process. Cato catches Peeta but Peeta, always so smart, indicates Cato's weak spot. Katniss shoots his hand and Peeta knocks him off. And then it is just Katniss and Peeta, left in an arena where only one of them can win. Blood flows from Peeta's leg. They both know that if they wait, he will die. He is happy to wait it out, left only in her company. But she leans forward and repeats her words from the cave: she refuses to live knowing she let him die. They know each other too well. With his left hand, he holds a knife to his chest. With her left hand, she holds the tip of an arrow to her throat. At the same time, they have used their right hands to prevent the motion of the other's left hands.

"You have Prim," he reminds her.

"But I won't have you," she replies. She should hate herself because she is doing what her mother did: giving up on her own family because the man she loves is dying. But Gale won't let her family die. The Mellark men won't let her family die. How could they when everyone knows that one day, the Mellarks and the Everdeens would have been linked together? She isn't really abandoning her family. The only person she could abandon is Peeta.

Their eyes lock in understanding. He smiles tiredly. "Together?" he asks.

"Always," she replies. She kisses him and leans backwards. "On the count of three?"

He grips her right hand with his right hand, their fingers entwining. "One."

"Two."

"Stop! Stop!" yells the voice of Claudius Templesmith. He announces that they have both won.

Their actions do not spark a rebellion although it is a close thing. President Snow gives a speech explaining that the Capitol is inclined to show mercy. Some question whether the real reason is that the double suicide of Peeta and Katniss could have begun uprisings but no one watching could doubt Katniss and Peeta's feelings for each other. Most people view the Capitol's decision as a strange midway point between not wanting a rebellion and showing mercy to two children who wanted nothing except to grow old together. President Snow pays them a private visit to make it clear that they must never split up and that he will always be watching them.

The next Games, of course, try the same approach but no one can act out being in love and no one else is willing to try the double suicide, in case the Capitol does not show mercy twice. Katniss and Peeta marry within the year and, although Katniss does not want children, have a daughter within two because they know the Capitol will kill them if they do not. Their son is reaped for the Ninety-fourth Hunger Games but he, too, survives. Their lives unfold in relative peace and harmony. The senseless massacre of twenty-three children every year continues.


	4. Seneca Crane

**Disclaimer: I do not own _The Hunger Games_**

**_Review reply to JennaBrooks_**_: __Thanks! Hope you enjoy. Hmm, I'll have a think about writing that one as a bonus chapter maybe. I can try to plan it out while printing numerous documents ^_^_

**A/n: **The odd one out in many ways. I hope you enjoy nonetheless. I'll be visiting my family over the weekend so the final one isn't likely to be up till Sunday evening at the earliest. I intended to have this finished before but I'm afraid I was in the office late on Monday and, yesterday, for the first time in a month, I got out early enough to play sport so I couldn't resist. Sorry!

IV. Seneca Crane

At the very end of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Seneca Crane has half a second to make a decision: does he let the Hunger Games end with two victors or have it end with none at all? One option gives the Games their victor but suggests the Capitol is fallible. The other demonstrates the Capitol's power but will cause anger among the districts. People look at him, waiting for his decision.

"Do nothing," he orders.

It's the wrong choice.

Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark die together at the edge of the lake in the Seventy-fourth arena. It is an unprecedented outcome. The Hunger Games _always _have a victor. The victors are the Capitol's way of showing the districts that life is not entirely hopeless under its reign. If no one can win the Hunger Games then it is no longer a game but a mass execution.

The districts begin to mutter. They grow restless. It is not until a gang of teenagers from District Six kill a Peacekeeper for the sole reason that she is walking by them that what has happened really hits the country. All of the teenagers, except for one who escaped, are executed. Nonetheless, rebellions rise up, each using Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark as the faces of their cause. The misgivings people had about their relationship no longer matter: everyone insists that the Capitol murdered two children because they dared to fall in love.

It becomes harder to control. While President Snow executes Seneca Crane for his failures, Gale takes up the cause in District 12, joined by the Mellark brothers. Gale rouses the Seam; the Mellark brothers, the town. Some Peacekeepers divert to the rebels' side there and reinforcements pour in. But there are a finite number of reinforcements that can cover Panem. The scenes in District 12 are replicated once, twice, eleven times over. A force from District 13 offers help, unmasking its presence at last. Their aid is accepted but no one trusts the strange soldiers who have only bothered to help them now.

District 12 falls first, then District 11. District 4 follows with Districts 7 and 8 on its heels. District 6, lead by the one teenager who escaped execution, storms to victory just as District 3 captures its Peacekeepers. Districts 5, 9 and 10 manage when District 13 reallocates their resources there. Then to District 1. And finally, finally, to District 2.

And then the Capitol. President Snow fights back but the rebels capture him. He is sentenced to execution. Gale Hawthorne and the Mellark brothers flip for the honour and Gale wins.

In the aftermath, it is unclear who can lead Panem. The leader of District 13 argues that it should be her but even though District 13 _helped_, no one else agrees that they led the rebellion. Eventually a council of leaders is formed. The Hunger Games are over forever. But every year, there is a moment of silence, to remember those who died for the sake of entertainment. And to remember, especially, two teenagers who died not for the rebellion but for themselves.


	5. Koarn Mellark

**Disclaimer: I do not own _The Hunger Games_**

**A/n: **Got out at 7pm so plenty of time to finally upload the last world in which Katniss Everdeen did not become The Mockingjay. Thanks for reading along. Hope you enjoyed the fic.

V. Koarn Mellark

Primrose Everdeen is called as the female tribute for the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games but her older sister, Katniss Everdeen, volunteers to save her life.

Peeta Mellark is called as the male tribute for the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games but his older brother, Koarn Mellark, volunteers to save his life.

On the one hand, Katniss is grateful because now she will not have to kill Peeta Mellark, who saved her life when she was eleven. On the other hand, she cannot repay this debt if she murders his brother first. She makes up her mind to avoid Koarn Mellark for the entirety of the Games.

Koarn seems to have the opposite idea.

"I'm going to be honest," he says as they wait for Effie, "I volunteered to save his life. Rai couldn't, he's too old. Peeta's a good person. And he loves you."

It's ridiculous because they've never even talked. However, Koarn insists that had Peeta been in the Games, he would have died to let her win. Despite her earlier vow, she asks him whether this means he is fighting against her. Because if he is, she will still have a reason to fight him.

"And go home and tell my brother, 'hey, I volunteered so that you could live but killed the love of your life on screen, please don't hate me'? Not likely. I love him. You'd do anything for your sister, right? That's why you're here. It's the same for me."

She doesn't believe him at first. But Haymitch thinks it is an excellent idea, once he's agreed to sober up to help them. He directs them to team up. She resists but there is something about Koarn's manner that makes her trust him. Perhaps it's the way he doesn't have with words. If he had been charming, she wouldn't have trusted him. Violent, arrogant, cunning would have made her keep her distance. But Koarn is straightforward and blunt. He criticises her and praises her in the same breath. They argue a few times and he informs her that if she had wanted the nice Mellark, she should have stopped him from volunteering.

They have already made a splash as the girl and boy on fire. Then Koarn gets an eight and Katniss, an eleven. At the interviews, Katniss is passable. Koarn sweeps everyone away by declaring his intention to save Katniss Everdeen's life.

"Back home, there's a boy who's waited his entire life for Katniss Everdeen to notice him." He smiles the easy-going smile he only wears when he's in a good mood. "Well, I forgot to get him something for his birthday so, Peet, when she's home safe and sound, consider it a late birthday present."

It raises laughter but more, it raises sponsorship. It's a new story. A girl who volunteers for her sister is unusual but not new. A boy who volunteers to save his fellow tribute because of someone else is unheard of.

In the arena, Koarn runs from the bloodbath with Katniss. She is constantly on her guard around him but he doesn't let her down. It is Koarn who encourages them to keep moving when they nearly die of dehydration although it is Katniss who guides them through the wall of fire. Koarn hides her (by shoving her under a bush before she can finish her protest) when the Careers arrive. Koarn doesn't die because the boy from District 7 runs from the same fire straight into the group. He kills the girl from District 4. At the same time, Katniss lashes out with the knife that the girl from District 2 threw at her as she and Koarn escaped the bloodbath and catches Cato in the side, forcing him to release Koarn. As he twists, looking for this unknown threat, she stabs again, this time catching him in the gut. Koarn kills the girl from District 1. The remaining Careers flee and for a moment, the boy from District 7 faces the tributes from District 12. His face is bleeding from a cut as is Koarn's. The boy grins.

"We match."

And just like that, they have another ally. He introduces himself as Ash Tanis. He barely escaped the bloodbath: he just about outpaced Cato. "Lucky there wasn't another Career or I'd have been dead," he confesses. He's friendly enough but somewhat vicious. A little unhinged. Koarn keeps an eye on him while Katniss doesn't trust him at all. But they now outnumber the Careers and that it what is important.

The boy from District 10 dies. They run into Rue but none of them, not even Ash, can bring themselves to kill her. Instead, they add a fourth ally to the group. Koarn sardonically remarks that at the rate they're going, it will be a Hunger Party rather than the Hunger Games.

They think of a plan to destroy the Careers' remaining food. Ash and Katniss go to the food, Koarn and Rue go to set fires. Ash figures out the trap. Katniss triggers the mines, killing the boy from District 3 in the process. Katniss loses part of her hearing; Ash breaks his arm. She tries to splint it as well as she can but they both know he is a liability now.

Then they hear Rue screaming for Katniss, for Koarn, for Ash. They run. The Careers are there. Ash screams indescribable fury and _hurls _himself at the boy from District 1. Clove knifes him but not before he has stabbed the other boy. Katniss shoots at her and misses. She runs away.

Rue and Ash both lie dying. Katniss sings them to sleep. She covers Rue's body with flowers and Ash's body with thin branches, leaving them hand in hand in the clearing. She can't stop thinking about Ash's reaction. He was vicious and cunning but when it came down to it, he would rather kill a murderer than let a child die.

Katniss and Koarn reunite. There are now five tributes left: the girls from Districts 2 and 5, the boy from 11 and, of course, Katniss and Koarn. A feast is called but Katniss and Koarn don't go. A cannon fires and that night, Thresh appears in the sky.

They pick berries. Katniss has shown Koarn which berries are safe to pick but he mixes them up and picks up some nightlock. The girl from District 5 eats them before Katniss notices the mix-up.

It leaves them with Clove, the girl from District 2. The psychopathic knife nut who ran away from the murder of Rue. Koarn tells her that it will be OK. They hold hands as they walk. With every step they take, Katniss is aware that she owes Peeta and she owes Koarn and she owes Rue and she owes Ash. She can never stop owing. She has done things in these Games, true, but when it comes down to it, it was Koarn who risked his life with the Careers, it was Rue who died enacting her plan, it was Ash who avenged Rue. And Katniss? Katniss just saves lives and causes trouble.

Mutts chase them to the Cornucopia. Katniss and Koarn run at it from one direction, Clove from another. Katniss sees what Clove is about to do before Koarn does. Katniss has always been the faster runner. It takes two swift steps to dart in front of Koarn and take the knife that is thrown for him.

Because now she doesn't owe anyone. Because now she is on a level with Rue and Ash. Because the only thing she can do is save lives and cause trouble.

Koarn's scream of fury is louder and more terrible than Ash's. He stoops to pick up the knife in Katniss' chest and hurls it at Clove. It doesn't hit, of course, but the few seconds where she ducks is enough for him to reach her. Before she can say a word, her neck is broken and she lies on the ground, her sightless eyes staring at a cloudless sky.

He picks up the knife again. He looks at Katniss. He is still furious.

"I lost," he declares. "I lost and you know it."

He holds the knife to his chest. The tip pierces his skin but then he is stunned by the hovercraft as Claudius Templesmith hurriedly announces him as the victor of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games.

He can't bear to look at Peeta when he returns. He apologises repeatedly for letting Katniss die. Peeta tries to comfort him but he refuses to be comforted. The only thing that he knows is that he went into that arena to save one person and he failed.

However, despite his intentions at the end of the Games, his actions in the arena have sparked a thought process. Or rather, the moment where Koarn nearly thwarted them of their victor. In the Quarter Quell, (_To remind the rebels that more women in the districts died from violence than from any other cause, the tributes shall only be reaped from women._) someone thinks of a plan. It spreads throughout to all the districts amenable. This turns out to be every district except Districts 1 and 2. At the very beginning, every other tribute turns on those tributes and kills them. Every tribute selects a weapon. Holding hands, before the Capitol knows what is happening, every tribute kills herself.

It causes chaos. It is unprecedented. But it is a warning. No, more than a warning. It is a declaration: the children of Panem will no longer play this game. There will be no entertainment. If you call us, we will die first. And beneath it, something darker: look at how easily they ganged up on those four teenagers from Districts 1 and 2. That could be the Capitol.

Koarn loves it and he hates it. He was supposed to bring one of those two girls back to District 12, not inspire their deaths. At the same time, he loves the smartness of it. When twenty children commit suicide, it isn't entertainment: it's disturbing. That year, rebellions rise up and are crushed. But the country is unsettled.

In the Seventy-sixth Games, the children have a different tactic. Led by District 1, they sit down. That's it. The tributes from District 2 look momentarily confused but then the boy shrugs and sits down so the girl does too. Claudius Templesmith warns them that their families will pay the price. The girl from District 1 lies down, hands behind her head, and informs Mr. Templesmith that killing doesn't solve everything. If she is scared for her family, she does not show it. The District 4 boy stands up, wanders over to the Cornucopia and picks up some water bottles. He throws one to his district partner with a wink. They begin to have a water fight, laughing and shrieking as they soak each other. Someone else takes some food and shares it around. The tributes gather together, laughing and talking. It turns out that the boy from District 2 can do a fantastic impression of Caesar Flickerman while the girl from District 7 is a talented juggler. Furious, the Capitol triggers the mines and kills the tributes as they play together in the artificial sunshine.

It is unforgiveable, this time. The districts revolt in unison over the deaths of their innocently playing children. District 13 comes in to help. When even your spare army in District 2 turns against you, the fight is hopeless. President Snow is captured. Koarn is given the honour of executing him.

In the aftermath, as Panem puts itself back together, Peeta and Koarn stand in the bakery in District 12, looking out of the window.

"I never thanked you, you know," Peeta says. "For saving my life. For trying to save her."

Koarn shakes his head. "I failed."

Peeta smiles although the pain is still evident in his eyes, even two years on. "That's her sister," he says and points. "Look how happy she is now."

"Nothing to be scared of," Koarn replies and laughs bitterly, because he is a victor and victors know that anything can be scary.

Peeta nods. "She'd have liked that, I think. And it's because of you. You started all of this. You showed everyone that it's possible to care about other people and that it's possible not to play their game."

Koarn looks at his little brother. "You know," he says, "if Katniss had won, she would have married you."

"She didn't even know me."

"But I knew her. And trust me: if you'd just spoken to her, you would have been hers."

Peeta smiles and slings a friendly arm around his brother. Together, they watch Primrose Everdeen, tending animals in the sunlight of District 12, free forever from the menace of the Hunger Games.

_**Fin**_


End file.
